Buyer can't complete purchase

[FreshHeirloomSeeds]

I have new etsy shop, bank account and Plaid verified, a few weeks old.

A buyer messaged me and said they can not complete purchase either for many items in bulk at once or for items one at a time.

Etsy said, it must be on the buyers end.

The thing is, we have had many hundreds of views, dozens of "favorited item", and dozens of "in carts",

yet not a single sale. I am wondering if this buyers problem is also stopping every other buyer.

[OmasFabricStash]

Where is your buyer from? Many states restrict flower seeds and plants. 

[FreshHeirloomSeeds]

They didn't say what State they are from. We also sell seeds on ebay and can sell to every state in the US. We only sell US, no international. Thank You

[Vintorious]

 "I am wondering if this buyers problem is also stopping every other buyer." 

Doubtful. Your shop is new, and it takes time to make that first sale. Also, be wary of customers asking you to help them complete a purchase: this is a known approach from scammers who want to get you off platform to make it easier to get your personal information. 

Tell the customer that you do not control the payment process, and if they need assistance with making a payment, they need to contact Etsy support.

[FreshHeirloomSeeds]

Thank You, Just weird with all the items in carts but nothing yet.

[Vintorious]

@FreshHeirloomSeeds that's how some people shop: put everything interesting in a cart, then winnow it down later. Some shoppers don't even know that they've put things in their cart until they try to make a purchase.

[JMOldeVintage]

@FreshHeirloomSeeds  - You should consider adding that you have Florida licensing, inspections, etc. to ease seasoned gardeners' minds.
Then include the scientific names of the heirloom varieties you are selling. I see "heirloom" mentioned & think older, well established plant varieties, maybe natives, that continue to endure without all the cross-breeding, etc.
Right now I have no idea what type of Iris I would be purchasing.
Adding to my confusion is that you sell heirloom apple seeds. Some varieties have gone thru enough cross breeding and can be found in Northern Florida where they might get enough chill-time to successfully bear fruit. But based on your location, and the lack of scientific names much less that the common names don't add up to coming from you in Florida, well, this may be a detriment to sales. 

[FreshHeirloomSeeds]

Thank You

[PlatypusDream]

Are you sure the items you are selling are allowed?

https://www.etsy.com/legal/policy/plants-herbs-seeds-and-soil/242685907951

[FreshHeirloomSeeds]

Hello, Yes, Dozens of other etsy sellers have the same seeds.

[JustMeToo]

@FreshHeirloomSeeds   The fact that other etsy sellers have the same seeds doesn't necessarily mean they're allowed!

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft · Accepted solution]

I put an item in my cart as a test and went through the steps of checkout. I got all the way to the last page where I would submit the order without any issues. 

[FreshHeirloomSeeds]

Thank You for that. At least I know it works up until then. I'll know when I get my first sale.

[bradgoodell]

I put one of your items in my cart and went all the way to checkout with no problem, so that isn't it.  If the buyer in question said they couldn't complete an order asked for your email address, it may have been a phishing scam.  Or they could be in an area where plant imports aren't allowed by law.

You asked why buyers aren't purchasing.  This is some of the reasons buyers may be wary:

1. Iris from seeds.  This is somewhat unusual, I've only bought them as rhizomes.
2. Apples from seeds.  Extremely unusual.  And it would take years of work before a buyer could be certain that they actually received a hybrid like HoneyCrisp.  Too much years of investment to discover the apple is some weird tiny sour type.
3. You only have one photo of each flower, and they look like they came straight from a Brecks catalog.  I would want much more than that when gambling on making a purchase with a new seller/unknown business entity.
4. You have no about page that explains your history, discusses your licensing, etc.  
5. While your items are inexpensive, they could completely fake and I wouldn't know until it was past the window to file a dispute or chargeback.

Also, a quick Google search revealed this:

The only way to get a Honeycrisp apple tree from a Honeycrisp apple tree is to clone it. You can't grow them from seed. The seed from the apple you used is an amalgamation of the chromosomes of the Honeycrisp and whatever apple tree pollinated the Honeycrisp tree.

https://ask2.extension.org/kb/faq.php?id=844454#:~:text=The%20only%20way%20to%20get,tree%20pollinate....

With this knowledge, I definitely wouldn't buy any seeds from you.

I'm sorry, but I hope this helps.  

[vintageNCtreasures]

I wondered the same thing about irises and the apple seeds.

I've bought irises in the past and have always bought the rhizomes. 

I'd never buy seeds for an iris.

Found this out online about iris seeds:
"With seeds it takes a little longer to get blooms, however, and they don’t necessarily look like the mother plant."

"With iris seed propagation, it takes two plants to make the new one. Pollen from one plant fertilizes a female flower from another. The resulting iris seed pods can produce plants with flowers that look like either parent or any combination of the two."

"When you grow an iris (or any other plant) from its root structure, you are cloning the parent plant. This type of non-sexual propagation will produce an exact duplicate of the iris from which you cut a piece of rhizome."

And with an apple seed, how would anyone know if that seed was for the type of apple pictured? 
You have NO way of knowing for years and years and based on the info above you can't plant seeds to get a Honey Crisp apple tree.

[bradgoodell]

@vintageNCtreasures  We have an active apple restoration project in our community, saving and identifying heirloom fruits and trees and use grafting to keep those rare varieties alive. None of it is done by seed since that doesn't work to reproduce the tree. We have 4 old orchard varieties on our property and are hoping the get them identified and saved.